Charlotte

Food Lion President Beth Newlands Campbell is resigning this week, citing personal and professional reasons. She has held the position since December 2012. Meg Ham, president of Bottom Dollar Food, will replace her. Both Food Lion and Bottom Dollar are Salisbury-based subsidiaries of Brussels-based Delhaize Group.

Chad Holliday, chairman of Bank of America from 2010 until CEO Brian Moynihan replaced him earlier this month, will become chairman of gas company Royal Dutch Shell next year. Holliday will continue to serve on the Charlotte-based bank's board.

Donny Hicks, director of economic development for Gaston County, thinks the county needs more spec buildings to attract new business. He says the area has fewer buildings available than at any time in the past 30 years, while shell structures are going up in neighboring counties.

Battery-maker Alevo says it could add as many as 6,000 jobs over the next five years at its manufacturing plant in Concord. The Swiss company expects to begin shipping utility-scale batteries it will manufacture at the site of the former Philip Morris plant in July 2015.

Charlotte-based SPX will spin off its flow products division – which includes pumps, valves and filtration systems – into a separate company. Both companies will be led by current SPX chairman and chief executive Chris Kearney and will maintain their headquarters in Ballantyne.

Charlotte-based Crescent Communities will sell nine apartment complexes comprising 2,667 residential units for close to $700 million. Charlotte's Crescent SouthPark will be sold to UBS Global Asset Management and Crescent Dilworth will be sold to an unnamed institutional buyer. Other complexes included in the sale are in Durham, Raleigh, Atlanta, Tampa, Fla., and Orlando, Fla.

Alevo Group plans to hire about 500 workers by the end of 2015 at the former Philip Morris cigarette plant in Concord. Earlier this year, the Swiss company paid $68.5 million to purchase the 2,000-acre campus where it will make lithium-ion batteries for power companies. The company expects to hire up to 2,500 people over three years.

Charlotte City Council is considering incentives for Synchrony Financial to expand its presence in the Queen City. The financial-services company, a spinoff of GE, could add 125 management jobs with an average annual salary of $125,000 and 275 call-center jobs with an average salary of $27,000.

The operators of a Cornelius-based payroll-services company were indicted on charges of stealing at least $11 million from 113 clients. William James Staz, 72 and son James William Staz, 43, used money they embezzled from Employee Services Net to buy a luxury home and a $120,000 Mercedes Benz and on strip-club entertainment and jewelry purchases.

Two Brazilian companies will purchase Chiquita Brands International for $680 million in cash, and the N.C. Economic Development board said Cutrale and Safra Group would be required to pay back state and local incentive money if they move jobs out of North Carolina. Chiquita was awarded $22 million in 2011 to move its headquarters from Cincinnati to Charlotte.Related: Brazilian companies to buy Chiquita

Gordon Food Service will invest $58 million in a new Kannapolis distribution center and plans to create 275 jobs over five years. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company distributes food products to restaurants, schools and health-care companies throughout the Eastern U.S. and Canada.

Startup battery manufacturer Alevo Group is expected to announce plans today for the former Philip Morris USA cigarette plant in Concord. The company said it plans to hire 500 workers in 2015 and, if sales take off, 2,500 or more within three years. Alevo will make utility-scale batteries for power companies and grid operators.

The newly rebranded Charlotte Hornets trail only one NBA team – the Cleveland Cavaliers – in full-season ticket sales. The Hornets, which begin regular season play on Wednesday, also beat their own record for season ticket sales – counting partial plans and renewals, the team has sold the equivalent of 10,000 season tickets.

Analysts say Chiquita Brands International is almost certain to accept a buyout offer from privately-owned Brazilian companies Cutrale and Safra Group after Chiquita shareholders on Friday rejected a planned merger with Dublin-based Fyffes. Lured by almost $23 million in state and local incentives, Chiquita relocated from Cincinnati to Charlotte in 2011.

Laura Schulte, who oversees about 2,700 branches as president of Wells Fargo's Eastern U.S. community-banking operations and will retire by year-end, says Charlotte must continue diversifying its economy beyond banking and should take a regional approach to growth.

Mesa Airlines informed the N.C. Department of Commerce it will discontinue operations a Charlotte Douglas International Airport, eliminating 631 jobs. Most affected employees have accepted company jobs outside of Charlotte. The shutdown is due to US Airways' decision to move Mesa's contract operations to another location.

Two Brazilian companies increased their buyout offer from $14 a share to $14.50 a share Thursday in a last-minute effort to convince shareholders of Chiquita Brands International to choose its offer over that of Irish produce company Fyffes. Chiquita shareholders will vote at 9 a.m. Friday on the proposed merger.

Sears Holding Co. will close its store and auto center at Gastonia's Eastridge Mall in December. The store's 65 employees can apply for positions at other Sears and Kmart stores, a company spokesman said.